Pickhill Bantam 180a Refurb

[Turbo]

I recently bought this welder untested for £25.

I rigged up a temporary lead & luckily it was welding ok.

The paintwork wasn't great, particularly the top.

Cleaned up with a knotted cup wire brush & the angle grinder.

I decided to check if there was any crud in the tank.

Oil was spotless, cleanest one I've ever seen.

Here are some pics of the internal workings of an oil cooled welder.

It's no wonder these get scrapped - there's a lot of copper in there!

 

[cumbriasteve]

That model was my first serious welding machine, used it mostly for making boat and camping trailers.

It never missed a beat and every buyer got a totally free offer with each one...a free bad back when you tried lifting them in and out of the car boot.

 

[brightspark]

i have mine on wheels and use heavy leads 9 meters long . it rarely moves . everyone thinks they have lost oil when they open them up and find there less than half full . once the tranny is sat in it raises the oil level . dunno where they think it goes it doesn't evaporate and you would sure notice if it leaked out

 

[Hood]

I have an Oxford 180 and a Pickhill 140 sitting unloved and unused in the cabin outside. I used to haul them round to boats to weld but I was younger then

Haven't used them for probably 15 plus years and no one seems to want them but I would hate to scrap them. Hopefully they are still ok as the cabin is damp and maybe one day someone will want one

 

[gaz1]

through this forum i ended up getting one myself an oxford 110b

best thing ive done welds all day long and no sodding timeout on it either

great device in my eyes to learn with, even better if you get a cheapish one bought

 

[RonA]

Another vote for the Oxford 180, brilliant on heavy sectional stuff. Won’t be parting with mine anytime soon.
RonA

 

[daleyd]

I've got an Oxford RT140. Picked it up for a song a few years back, it got moved to my "storage" (I.e council) garage when we had our extension and new garage built last year, I've not been brave enough to try and manhandle it back yet!! It welded lovely though the couple of times I used it.

 

[gt6s]

I have 180 one under my welding table too on a specially built bogie. It had a VERY hard life on the farm. I recently changed some of the fried amp contacts and made up a set of Dinze tails for her so I do not need dedicated leads on her permanently. And for the first time in her life the correct 32 amp plug. She has not been used in years but at least now she will work as she should instead of needing to jiggle the contactor to get her to weld.

Laurence

 

[WorkshopChris]

When and if it all goes wrong, there will be two things left on this planet cockroaches and oxford style oil cooled welders.

 

[Hood]

When and if it all goes wrong, there will be two things left on this planet cockroaches and oxford style oil cooled welders.

But that begs the question.



Can cockroaches weld?

 

[brightspark]

But that begs the question.



Can cockroaches weld?

I know a few that can

 

[brightspark]

wish I could have bough one for 25 quid just my price

 

[Hood]

wish I could have bough one for 25 quid just my price

You can have 2 for that if you want Just need to collect.

 

[brightspark]

You can have 2 for that if you want Just need to collect.

a good offer but 2 far and I already have one don't fancy posting them for me do u il give u a tenner extra

 

[Hood]

a good offer but 2 far and I already have one don't fancy posting them for me do u il give u a tenner extra

A tenner extra on top of postage costs? Sounds like a deal

 

[Turbo]

Next job was to clean up the bottom & repaint, so it was back up onto the hoist.

2 coats of oxide & 2 of aircraft blue.

Now to add some hooks for winding cables. I started with 10mm bar, cleaned & chamfered in the lathe, bent & cut it to suit the bars on the welder.

I used my record bender to produce the perfect bends. It has been one of my most useful auction finds!

Mig welded the brackets onto the welder. The bars on the welder are bent & offset so it was difficult to get a neat looking job!

2 coats of oxide on the top.

 

[winchman]

I was given mine by an old chap who was going in to a retirement flat, it wasn't working but he didn't want to throw it away, one connection internally had fell off!
10 minute fix works well
Remember and oil cooled welder is for life not just Christmas

 

[MattF]

You ought paint it that colour. Looks good.

 

[brightspark]

You ought paint it that colour. Looks good.

no no no they were done in hammerite blue from new

 

[Turbo]

You ought paint it that colour. Looks good.

Is that the colour of your vices?

I like the colour too, it was from a batch that got some metallic flakes mixed in by mistake so it has a nice sheen when dry. It's a great paint but I was able to buy it for £20 for 5L due to the mixing error.